In the Dark of the Night
by BroadwayObsessedGirl54
Summary: Kisshu, Taruto, and Pai hold a dark secret. A secret that is long forgotten even by them, but what happens when Kiichiero discovers it and everyone's world is upside down and what does it have to do with the three boys that went missing two years ago?
1. Prelude: Two Years Previous

**Hi! **

**This isn't Broadway, this is her friend. Well this chapter was writen by Broadway, but she didn't want to post it because she thought that she was the only one who liked the plot line and was afraid everyone would hate it. Eh, she's very sensitive about that kind of thing. So, I read it and thought it was a really good idea and that it was a waste to just let it rot in her computer, so I decided to post it to see what you guys think of it (Lucky for me, she left her Fanfic hompage wide open, so it was easy). So please guys! Review! If she gets flames she will probably kill me for posting it, but I'm sure she would like the feed-back.... anyway, review!**

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**_Prelude: Two Years Previous to the Mew Project_**

'Tuesday, December 8th, 1999' read the newspaper that was plopped carelessly by the paper boy on the doorstep of the Momomiya residence that surprisingly clear winter morning. Not a moment after the paper boy left, the front door to the house swung open revealing an eleven-year old Ichigo with a smile bright enough to light the entire city of Tokyo plastered to her face. Today was a special day in the young girl's life. Today was the first day she was allowed to spend the entire day with her friends in public without supervision.

In front of the shopping mall, she stood scanning the passing crowd until her eyes light up with excitement when she saw them, "Miwa! Moe! Over here!" she cried out.

Having heard their names, Miwa and Moe turned their heads to see Ichigo waving frantically at them, almost looking like she would explode with excitement. Both girls smiled almost simultaneously and ran toward their maroon-haired friend.

"Ichigo!" Exclaimed Moe, "I can't believe it! We're at a shopping mall, without parents! What should we do first?!"

Ichigo beamed, "Shop of course! And then grab some lunch before we head back home. This is going to be so much fun!" Ichigo, unable to contain herself, jumped into the air in her excitement.

The tree girls giggled and then latched arms together before entering the front door of the mall.

Several hours later, the girls emerged from one of the many shops in the mall and laughing at something Miwa had just said. Abruptly, Moe stopped laughing and put on a coy look, "Hey Ichigo, look who's over there."

Ichigo followed Miwa's gaze over to a group of boys sitting at one of the various benches and felt her breath catch in her throat.

It was Haruki Hinamori. The boy was only a few inches above Ichigo's own height, but of course most of his height came from his long legs. These legs, of course, had a thin, but very toned torso to match its perfection. His arms, like his torso, were thin, but strong and trained from the several hours of weekly Kendo practices and tournaments. Resting prestigiously atop his sculpted neck was undoubtedly the most gorgeous head one was ever to see. Forest green hair framed his face, lightly brushing his face in a playful manner. His skin was pale, but not abnormally so. Resting on his face, were two soft earth colored eyes, that always seemed to have a hidden smile confined in it, even when the smile was absent on his face.

Among the people surrounding him, Ichigo could recognize only two others, Haruki's two best friends. Although, Haruki was the most popular boy in school, his group of friends was quit obscure. Yuuto, for instance, was the class nerd. Though his appearance contradicted that stereotype completely. Yuuto was tall and muscular. In short, everything about Yuuto was intimidating. But, as one would tell you, the most unnerving quality of Yuuto's was his emotionless face. You would be considered a lucky man, indeed, if you were to catch even a shadow of a smile upon is strong, sharp features. Even his eyes were often absent of emotion, but Yuuto acted like everyone's elder brother. So, no one minded him much.

On the polar opposite side, the other boy in Haruki's group was short, almost midget size. Though, despite that unfortunate fact, the boy, Kaito, held his head high and proud. Despite him being the same age as Yuuto and Haruki, he looked quite boyish. His hair was a disarray of mousy brown hair atop his face, which still had some baby fat still on him, only adding to his boyish charm. Kaito's energy levels, unlike Yuuto's were through the roof. He could barely hold still, but he spent most of that energy trying to prove that size was not important.

Ichigo could barely breathe. Haruki, as you might have guessed, was her long time love interest. Miwa and Moe giggled in amusement to see Ichigo's face brighten to a deep pink.

The girls giggling broke Ichigo's trance, while she hurriedly muttered that they should leave. Highly amused by the girl's fluster, the girls agreed to leave the area toward home.

During the walk home, the once bright blue sky began to disappear behind threatening looking clouds. Knowing this fact the girls walked rapidly towards their homes.

"I didn't hear anything about snow on the news." Observed Miwa.

"How strange." Exclaimed Moe.

"I don't know, but I don't like the look of it. We better get home and quickly." Pressed Ichigo.

The three nodded their agreement and branched off their separate ways. Each cautiously made their way home, but none could shake the feeling of impending doom.

Several hours later, Ichigo lay sprawled on her bed, wrapped in a blanket, "Ichigo?"Her mother called.

"Yes?" she responded too lost in the realm of her comfort to truly pay attention.

"Can you come here for a moment?"

Curiously, Ichigo got off her bed and made her way downstairs to find her father and mother in front of the TV, "Mom? Dad? What's going on?"

"Honey, watch this." Her mother said carefully.

"_Today, three elementary school boys went missing."_ Sounded the voice of the TV reporter.

"_All three of the boys were last seen walking home from the mall earlier today. Local officials are currently out trying to solve the case. If you have any information on these boys,"_

Ichigo's eyes went wide as she inhaled a shaky breath. For, on the screen, flashed the pictures of Haruki, Yuuto, and Kaito.

"_Please contact the authorities immediately."_ And then the TV went black.

Ichigo remained frozen in place, unable to believe what she had just heard. They were gone, just like a swirl of smoke, without a trace.

Unable to contain herself, Ichigo ran to her room and cried. Between her sobs, she prayed to every god she had ever heard of that they would return safe. And, in the history of Tokyo, it had never snowed harder than it did that night.

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**Review?!**


	2. Chapter 1: Discovery of Truths

**Hey! This is actually Broadway this time! All I can say is wow, I didn't think this story would be so well recieved! Oh, and also, because he wouldn't shut up about it, Jesse (My friend who posted the first chapter... Without my permission *glares at Jesse*) He said that he wanted do my author's notes for this story with me. Damn him.**

**Jesse: *lifts hands defensively* Hey, L, it's not my fault you left your account wide open!**

**Broadway: Seriously don't you have anything better to do than sit here with me and write author's notes? I'm sure your girlfriend is missing you right about now.**

**Jesse: *playfully punches Broadway's shoulder* Aw! You're trying to get rid of ME your BEST FRIEND! *puts hand on heart* that hurts, L-bear!**

**Broadway: L-bear?**

**Jesse: Yeah, I heard your Uncle call you that once and it looked like you liked it, or were at the very least ok with it!**

**Broadway: *death glare* Do not call me that. You're lucky to be alive, If mew mew 124 hadn't told me not to kill you...**

**Jesse: Aw! You show your soft side to your reviewers! Thats so cute, L-bear!**

**Broadway: I hate you so much.**

**Jesse: I love you, too.**

**Broadway: Seriously, go visit your girlfriend.**

**Jesse: NO! I wanna sit here and see how many reviews you get!**

**Broadway: *sigh***

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**_Chapter 1: Discovery of Truths_**

**_Durring the Mew Project_**

Kiichiero typed furiously at the keys. Scenarios flying in and out of his mind almost as fast as the mathematical equations zooming and bouncing off the inner membrane of his brain. To most, the task seemed inconceivable, or at the very least, impossible, but to him it was a way to defy the very laws of nature.

The way he figured it, he defied nature every day, because of what he and Ryou had done with the five girls, commonly known as the Mew Mews. If he could genetically alter five teenage girls, he most certainly could tamper with alien DNA to get the information he wanted.

The door of the laboratory burst open to reveal Ryou, who groaned when he saw what Kiichero was doing, "Dear God, Kiichero! You're going to kill yourself working on that thing! And besides, it's a fool's dream. I mean, using a strand of DNA to tell an opponent's weakness. It's crazy!"

Kiichero, completely ignoring Ryou's nagging, continued typing and calculating. With a sigh, Ryou turned to leave the hopeless case, when:

_Bleep, Beep, boop!_

Kiichero's eyes widened, "What the-?"

Ryou returned to Kiichero's side and stared down at the computer screen, "Where did you say you got this DNA sample from?"

Eyes never leaving the screen, he answered, "We stole a hair sample off of Kisshu, as well as a skin sample from Pai."

"Are you sure?"

"Absolutely." Kiichero replied gravely.

"Then how?"

"Who knows? But who would have thought that they had traces of _human_ DNA in their own?"

Delicately, Kiichero picked up his DNA samples and took them over a machine in the corner. Now, this machine did not look like any ordinary machine. It looked quite like one of those torture machines you would find in sci-fi movies. To anyone who did not know its purpose, it would terrify them.

Kiichiero, gently, as if dealing with a newborn, set the samples down beneath the oversized needle. Backing away slowly, he, accompanied by a humbled Ryou, closed the clear plastic dome around the sample. Turning toward the computer, Kiichero nodded as Ryou pushed a large, red button.

Blinding white light blinded both men, although it was gone within seconds. Not wasting time stumbling about, like Ryou, Kiichero ran to the computer and checked the moniters. He smiled triumphantly to himself, two triumphs over nature in one day!

Through a complicated series of electron-protein scanning, he was able to capture pictures of events the article had seen, especially significant ones. Placing these still images together, in theory, should fit perfectly together to create a move-like memory sequence.

Perhaps, Ryou thought, they had finally found the key to their enemy's weakness. The computer gave three loud beeps to announce its readiness. Kiichero raised his finger and lowered it quickly onto the mouse, pressing play to unravel truths better left untold.

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**Jesse: *gasp* L! Could you have made it more OBVIOUS?!?!**

**Broadway: Well what happened may be obvious, but how it happened is a mystery... well not to me, but to eveyone else....**

**Jesse and Broadway: Review!**


	3. Chapter 2: Kisshu, Pai, and Taruto

**Hey Everyone! In case you didnt read what I wrote on my update on my contest, the reason I've been gone for so long is that at the end of January I was hit by a car whose driver was texting and driving at the same time and didnt pay attention to the streetlight (which was red for her and it was a pedestrian crossing) Well anyway, I was in a medically induced comma until mid-march and afterward they made me stay bedridden in the hospital until the very beginning of April. Now I'm finally home where I have internet and I can post this chapter that I worked on while I was bored at the hospital! Well on the upside I got to miss two months of school, though it does kinda suck that i was in a comma on my birthday... Oh well, its all good! I hope you enjoy the chapter! :D**

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Yuuto was never one for words. He spent his life hidden in the depths in his mind, that or observing other beings of the human race. Then, had been one of those observing instances. Though, at the time he had thought it fleeting, almost pointless to be watching that girl.

He blankly noted that she was indeed from the same class as him, though her name escaped him. She was just another annoying girl. Nothing special; plain, really. She was a simple red head, with chocolate colored eyes, normal height, normal weight; average. Though, none of those were the reasons he was looking her way to begin with. No, his reason was one of suspicion and straight-out curiosity. As he watched her, he noted her dirt colored eyes were carnivorously devouring the sight of something directly to his right. Boredly, he followed her gaze.

Haruki.

Yuuto smirked slightly, coldly, as according to his nature. He should have known. It was no secret to him of the Red Head's crush on Haruki. In fact, he found it rather amusing. Love truly was a stupid and childish thing. It caused nothing trouble; for, every time someone falls in love, another heart is broken. Whether it be one of the members from the relationship, or the poor soul who gathered up the courage to confess too late. Which is why he promised that if he were ever to meet this 'one' everyone talks about, he will let her waltz right on by.

Or, at least, that was his ideal. Haruki, on the other hand, would sooner drop dead than allow his friend to throw away something so 'precious'. He snorted at the thought. Fool-hearted was more like it!

A cold wind froze the thoughts in his mind. He inhaled deeply. The air was cold, soggy; sure signs of a storm. Yuuto forcefully nudged his two companions, who, until then had been asleep, awake. Groggily Kaito mumbled, "What's the matter, old man? Waking me like that!"

"There's a storm coming, and I don't particularly want to be caught in it." Yuuto answered curtly, already irritated with Kaito's wanna-be-rebellion attitude.

"I think you're right." Haruki stated, looking skyward, "We better get home, our mothers must be worried."

The three headed out at a brisk pace, trying with silent perseverance to out run the ominous clouds looming overhead. Though, Yuuto solemnly noted, the grey cloud seemed to pursue them with abnormal speed. Only feeding his soundless anxiety.

He pushed his feet to move him faster, making his legs scream in protest. His thighs and calves burning at his hurried pace.

_Drip_.

Kaito wriggled his nose as the first frigged drop landed on his nose. They were too late. The storm had begun; there was no going home now.

_Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip, Drip, Drip, Drip._

It didn't take long for the arctic raindrops to start falling on the boys. Haruki looked about frantically for some sort of shop or restaurant to take asylum in for the night. But, no such luck. Every window down the coiled streets of town were darkened and abandoned.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kaito spotted a lone ajar door, "Hey! Over there!"

Spotting Kaito's intended location, the boys scurried into the safe haven. The shop was little; single roomed. The wood was old and creaky; the shelves were dusty and crooked. The dated, floral-print curtains were frayed and sun-faded. Only a single table top lamp, which was also caked in dust, served as a source of light in the room.

Cautiously, Yuuto flicked the switch of the lamp, which, much to his surprise, flickered, and struggled to life. The dim light unveiled a few things that had been invisible to their eyes without it. Sitting in a small stack in the corner of the room were a small stack of blankets.

They were nothing fancy. Plain purple and white knitted together by a skilled hand, fine, but worn quality.

Kaito, being as childish and carefree as he was, quickly made himself right at home in the strange shelter. Haruki, though more reluctant, followed suit. On the other hand, Yuuto could barely put into words the conflicting emotions and thoughts running around in his head. All he could depict was this simple fact: He did not like this place. Not one bit.

He couldn't pinpoint the part that he didn't like, but he was too pessimistic to simply accept that their luck would be _this_ great. That during a storm some absent minded shopkeeper forgot to close his door. Not only that, but for an extremely habited place like downtown Tokyo, the shop looked like it hadn't been touched in years.

No, the pieces to this puzzle did not fit. And Yuuto did not like it.

"I'm hungry!" whined Kaito.

"Will you shut up, you little brat!" Haruki snapped, clearly at the end of his patience fuse.

Yuuto sighed, and said trying to keep his cool, "Kaito, We are in an empty shop in the pouring rain. I highly doubt there is food anywhere around here."

Giving a childish huff of disappointment, Kaito sank against the wall and attempted to fall asleep. Haruki and Yuuto slumped against the wall and let sleep find them.

Haruki stretched as he started to emerge from unconsciousness. He was met with a surprise, however, when his skin did not meet the wood of the old shop, but instead by a dirt and stone floor. His eyes flew open at the realization, only awakening his senses to the fact that he was no longer where he fell asleep in the shack in Tokyo, but in a cave.

The cave was cold and damp and the walls were ragged, grey colored stone speckled and smeared with dirt and mud; a sort of scar of time. Though, oddly enough, the walls were layered in an inward fashion until it came to a dome at the top. The three on the ground, far from the only gap in the cave's threatening walls the very top of the dome, which, as Haruki also noted, was the only light source, with an approximate six foot circumference and about fifty to fifty-five yards from Haruki's current position.

As stated before, the walls were layered. They were naturally done in such a way that they greatly resembled balconies. Even stranger, they were all angled one way or the other so the slimmest point of the stone was pointing toward the center; toward them.

Half-way into hysteria, stumbled as he hurriedly crawled toward Yuuto and shook him awake. Yuuto moaned as he let his eyelids slide open and, just as quickly, became alarmed as he took in his surroundings. He sprung to his feet accidentally kicking Kaito, jolting him awake.

"Eh? This isn't the shop! Where are we?!" asked, panic creeping into Kaito's voice.

"I don't know," Yuuto whispered, "But I have a bad feeling about this."

Haruki chuckled awkwardly, almost ironically, "I know the feeling."

"Welcome."

All three heads whipped to the source of the unknown voice and were met by the most terrifying being their young eyes had ever beheld.

His slit shaped pupils, coal black as to match his cold stone heart, were buried deep within the icy blue of his irises and set upon his snowy complexion. His thin, chapped lips were curled mischievously into a mockingly cruel smirk as the ends of his long, flowing black hair danced on his face, under his chin, and around his long, pointed ears. He chuckled in his low, almost hypnotic baritone, at the sight of the boys' confusion. Humans truly were too stupid for their own good.

"W-w-who-o a-are y-you? A-and, w-w-what do you w-want?" Haruki forced his sentence out in stutters, petrified of the malice in the monster's icicle eyes.

The monster's smile turned sickeningly pleasant, perfectly polished fangs glistening with their obvious hunter sheen, sending shivers down his on-looker's spines, "Well, let's just say I'm running a little experiment. And you?" He laughed sardonically, "You're my guinea pigs."

"What kind of experiment?" Yuuto evenly questioned, meeting the monster's gaze with even coldness, but far less malice.

"The genetic kind."

"G-genetic?" quivered Haruki

The rumble of far off laughter echoed off the walls of the cave, a sound that could only be described as hearing the laugh of a phantom hyena. Kaito's eyes flickered in the direction of one of the cave's balconies to find creatures, whom did not appear to be much different from, what looked like, their master.

Yuuto clenched his teeth as he studied his new found foes. _Damn, there's more of them._

"I believe it's about high time I introduced myself," He continued nonchalantly, "I'm am known as Deep Blue: God of the Cyniclon race. Pleasure to meet you, Yuuto, Haruki, and Kaito."

Haruki knew it shouldn't have surprised him that this Deep Blue knew their names, but never the less; it sent Goosebumps crawling on his skin.

Deep Blue's eyes glittered with amusement, "You see, I have been studying earth from afar for quite some time now. And, to say the least, it… _interests _me."

"Interests?" Yuuto inquired attempting to mimic Deep Blues calm, threatening demeanor.

"Yes. So much so that I have decided," His smirk broadened and his icy eyes shimmered, "I want it."

"W-want it?" squeaked Kaito.

Ignoring Kaito, Deep Blue continued, "And who better to get it for me that three of the natives?"

Yuuto growled under his breath, "Even if you changed our _entire_ genetic structure, we have no obligation or will to retrieve it for you."

Deep Blue laughed, "My dear boy, do you think I'm stupid? Of course I plan on erasing your human memories. That way I can fill your minds with the false memories of being my followers who, in a heroic plunge, were beaten into a coma and lost all of your memories. And I, your fearless and caring leader, will be there to remind you of your 'memories'." His frosty eyes danced, thoroughly amused.

Haruki's eyes bugged, "W-what?! Y-you can't do that! I-it's impossible!"

"No," Deep Blue tapped his chin pretending to think, "Not alone… but I suppose that's what I have them for." He motioned toward his pointed-eared, cat-eyed followers who were perched on the cave's natural balconies watching as they smirked with sick anticipation.

"What do you mean by that?!" screeched Kaito.

"This." Deep Blue snapped his fingers and, before the three boys could blink, they felt arms coil their way around them and start to drag them in three separate directions.

Forcibly, their clothes were ripped from their bodies in a hasty, brutish fashion leaving (sometimes) bloody scratch marks in their wake. Each boy struggled and writhed to no avail to escape the vice grip of the creatures who chuckled in fiendish delight. They were then shoved into strange almost savage looking clothes. Both Kaito's and Haruki's were generously showing in the midriff area, while there was no midriff showing on Yuuto.

Bound by ropes, they were thrown to the cave's jagged floor forcibly, breaking the skin of Kaito's cheek in the process. He only allowed a small whimper escape his sealed lips as the liquid rubies seeped from the wound and down his face leaving small droplets on the floor of the cave, no larger than tear drops.

With the grace of a predator and the arrogance of royalty, Deep Blue made his way down the face of the cave to face his victims, his long blue robe trailing slightly behind, covering the ground he walked on with its dark veil and sweeping the dirt from where it had naturally laid. In a pocket at the side of his robe he revealed a large glass vile with a tall gaudy, metal stopper on top. Floating inside the vile was a phosphorescent green liquid which seemed to emit its own eerie glow. Deep Blue set it in front of his three victims, just out of their bodies reaches. From a sheath that swung shortly at his hip, he pulled a long, finely crafted blade decorated at the cross of the handle with a sapphire, colored with deepest, richest blue known to the eye. Swirling and clouded, the gem gave the illusion of a bottomless abyss.

Chuckling to himself, Deep Blue chanted with eyes transfixed on the glass vile, "In the dark of the night evil will find them, in the dark of the night just before dawn, terror comes to doom them. Soon they shall feel that their nightmares are real! In the dark of the night, THEY'LL BE THROUGH!"

The liquid in the glass vile sprang to life, bursting light. From the top, formed small gargoyle-like spirits whom screeched with delight as they sprang and latched on to Kaito, Yuuto, and Haruki's skins, who screamed out in pain before they were muffled by the creatures encasing them in a glowing green cocoon.

Above the green cocoons that used to be the three Japanese boys, floated translucent versions of themselves, whether these were their souls or their humanity escaping them, Deep Blue didn't really care. With a hellish grin irked on his face, he lifted sword to the level of his eyes and laughed heartily; insanely as the deities were sucked in, into the swirling abyss of the sapphire in his sword.

No sooner had the last bit of innocent light from the floating deities been sucked away, the green gargoyles detached themselves from the boys; their work being done.

Lying on the ground, all memories wiped, genetic formula scrambled, and binding ropes lay ripped and torn useless on the floor of the cave, they were nothing like the boys who came in. These were monsters. Aliens.

They were one of them now, the green haired one's long, rabbit-like ear twitched as he opened his Aztec gold eyes for the first time. Actions, which were soon followed by the ones with purple and brown hair.

"Ah!" exclaimed Deep Blue with false delight, "Thank Goodness you have finally awoken my brave, Kisshu, Pai, and Taruto…"

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**O.O And so the story picks up! Again, sorry for the long wait! Review!**


	4. Chapter 3: Ichigo's Lament

**I'm Back, baby!**

**I know it's been a long time, and you are all going to kill me, but I come bearing a chapter... so I hope that makes it better? If you read As Long as You're Mine, that chapter will be up within a few days time, so keep your eyes open for it. And no matter how much you want to kill me right now, I love you all and enjoy the story and don't forget to review.**

**Love you lots,**

**Broadway**

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Ryou slammed his fist against the large hunk of metal, which was formerly known as his computer, as he muttered curses under his breath. The computer gave a large puff of smoke as the screen sputtered and flashed and eventually died. Kiichiero rubbed his temples. He felt a migraine coming on.

"It's just like this piece of shit to break down when we need it most!" Ryou growled

"Ryou," Kiichiero sighed exasperated, "Beating and screaming will not bring the computer back."

"Well then, Einstein," Flared Ryou with a dangerous glint in his eye, "how are we supposed to know the results of those DNA samples now?"

"It will all be ok," Kiichiero assured as he lifted the hood of the scanner where they had placed the hair and skin samples at the beginning of the experiment, "as long as we still have the samples, everything will-"

Kiichiero swore loudly. The samples were now nothing more than char-covered dust-mites.

"So," Ryou continued with a smug, but still exasperated smirk, "What next, Sherlock?"

Ichigo fumbled with the bow of her maid's outfit as she struggled to tie it in a hurry. She was late. Again.

"No surprise there." Lettuce sighed as she continued to mop the floor. Typically, it was Ichigo's chore, but Lettuce, being the soft-hearted push-over she was, covered for Ichigo. Just like she did yesterday, and the day before.

"Hey Lettuce," Ichigo panted, "Thanks for covering for me. Here let me finish."

Ichigo reached for the mop and Lettuce gladly let her have it. She began to make her way back to her normal post in the kitchen.

Lettuce couldn't really say that she _minded_ covering for Ichigo, because when Ichigo did show up for work, she actually worked. Unlike some people she knew. She cast a quick look over at Minto who was sipping at her tea carelessly at one of the tables.

Lost in thought, she nearly jumped out of her skin when Ryou slammed the door open and stomped into the café, slamming the door loudly behind him.

"Lettuce!" He called, she froze, "Tea. Now."

Lettuce shook as she prepared his tea. Ichigo looked on in disgust; what an insensitive jerk! She inwardly scolded Lettuce for being so compliant to their less than polite boss and his less than delicate demands. Frustrated, Ichigo sighed as she dropped her mop and made her way to the kitchen.

"Here," she brought out some of the tea materials, "let me help you."

"T-thanks, Ichigo." Lettuce smiled, truly thankful for the help.

Ichigo smiled at Lettuce before going to the refrigerator. She pulled out the milk and set it on the counter. She started to walk back towards Lettuce and the brewing tea, but the picture on the side of the milk carton stopped her.

The picture was of a person. A boy. A boy who neither she nor anyone else had seen in over two years.

_Haruki Hinamori._

The picture was pixilated and blurry, but undoubtedly him. She felt tears swell in her eyes as she read the text above the picture: Have you seen me?

_Have you seen me?_ She thought._ I wish._

Lettuce turned her head at the sudden silence only to be shocked with the sight of Ichigo staring at the side of a milk carton, tears rolling down her face.

"Ichigo?" she said, concern rolling off her voice.

"Two years." She muttered in a shaky voice, "Has it really been that long?"

Lettuce's eyes furrowed, "Ichigo what are you-"

She caught sight of the picture and her eyes softened and her voice began to drip with sweetness.

"Oh. Was this boy important to you?"

Only a whimper was heard from Ichigo.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Lettuce coaxed softly.

Ichigo hesitated, but then nodded, "I-it was three years ago when I met him. I-I guess you could say he was the class idol. He was smart, fun, cheeky, and handsome; every girl's dream. And I was no different. Though, I always liked to believe that I was different, that if I tried hard enough, worked on my appearance long enough, studied hard enough I would be on his level and that maybe… just maybe he would love me too. Nearly six months of that attitude later, I was determined to give up on him, since my efforts were proving useless. But, no matter what, he always seemed to worm his way back into my head. He always had me blushing, always had me stuttering like stupid. I grew to hate my love for him, hell, I grew to hate him, but when I did get near him all feelings of hatred vanished and all that was left was love. Hopeless, stupid love. And, Lettuce, do you know what I started wishing for? For him to get out of my life. To completely and utterly disappear. As if he had never existed. The worst part, Lettuce? I got my wish."

"You did?" Lettuce said surprised. She had gathered that the boy had disappeared, but completely and utterly? How was that possible?

"Yeah," Ichigo smiled ruefully, "He just… Poof! Disappeared without a trace! And I-I-I-I…"

Ichigo began to sob again. Her shoulders heaving and her face red and wet from her tears of grief. Lettuce looked on in pity. Gently she laid a hand on Ichigo's back and began to stroke and whisper encouraging nothings to her.

"It's all my fault!" Ichigo wailed, "I never should have wished such a horrible thing! I'm so stupid! And…And I mean… If he's gone shouldn't I be happy? Be able to get over him? Forget about him altogether? Why can't I? Why must I be so… so… STUPID!"

Lettuce began rubbing Ichigo's back a bit more frantically, "No, no Ichigo. It's not your fault. There's no way that some obscure wish you made could have condemned this poor boy! Ichigo, it's simply not possible! Not possible in the least."

"Hmn." Came the sound of Zakuro's cold voice from the doorframe where she had been silently watching. A grave, knowing smile claimed her face, "I wouldn't be so sure of that, Lettuce. I wouldn't be so sure."

Before either could ask her what she meant, she had vanished, door closed silently behind her.

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**Ohhh... and the plot thickens even more... Do you think that Ichigo's wish was what made Kisshu a target for Deep Blue? Or is this me just trying to confuse you? Reviews will make you find out quicker!**


	5. Chapter 4: Anger

**Hello everyone!**

**Welcome to the next chapter to In the Dark of the Night! Wow... Rereading this I just noticed how evil I made Deep Blue, that is to say, even more evil than he was in the canon Tokyo Mew Mew. That's kinda scary. I wrote this chapter while listening to Devil Take the Hind-Most from the musical Love Never Dies... Uh... Stay tuned for next chapter when we get to spend some time with Kisshu! Oh and the reason this chapter is so short is because I thought if I added anything else it would spoil next chapter so... yeah... Read and Review please!**

**Broadway**

**P.S- All you Pai/Lettuce fans out there: You're welcome ;)**

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Zakuro coughed miserably as she rolled onto her side in her much-too-large-for-one-person bed. Working at the Café Mew Mew may not have been her favorite past time ever, but she still felt a twinge of guilt radiating in her gut whenever she took the day off; despite the fact that she was sick as a dog (excuse the pun).

Beside the usual glint of guilt, Zakuro felt something different. Something new. Anxiety, fear, and an indescribable feeling that survival instinct was about the kick in. Zakuro rolled over to face a wall and closed her eyes, chanting to herself:

_Nothing is wrong. Everything is right. Everything is how it should be._

Deep Blue couldn't help but grin at his overwhelming triumph. It was all too easy! Poisoning the purple mew and then disguising himself as her was simple enough, but how readily the pink and green mews had taken his nonsensical words to heart was pathetic and yet, amusing.

He had to admit to shock when he noticed the Pink mew's sudden breakdown over a milk carton, but the mild shock quickly boiled into devilish delight when he caught a glimpse of the pixilated photograph on the carton's side.

It was all so _delicious._

What an incredible twist of fate it had been for that boy he had chosen to be his puppet to be so close to the heart of this weak, lovesick Mew Mew. _It would absolutely _crush_ her to learn that her _BELOVED_ Haruki, was now her hated Kisshu_. He thought; sadism dripping off his word, even in thought.

Oh, to count the ways he could _destroy_ the little Mew with this information. How this little fact could rip apart her soul from the very core. _Especially, _He thought, _if I keep her believing it's all her own fault. She'll practically destroy herself!_

Deep Blue let out a delighted cackle and Satan himself shivered in fright. He was rather beginning to enjoy this little game he had made with the humans. After all, humans were just so… _interesting._

Inexplicably, Pai felt an involuntary shiver run down the length of his spine. A feeling that he brushed off with an annoyed 'che'. At the moment he felt ragingly and inconsolably angry. The impertinence of humans continuously pissed him off, but this, however, was the first time it had ever brought him to his wit's end.

He had been at the Café Mew Mew watching Kiichero and Ryou attempt to unscramble sample of DNA, though he refuses to neither confirm nor deny the sabotage of Ryou's computer. He had human particles in his DNA? The absolute _insolence_! The thought of even being closely related to the human species made him cringe in disgust. But, even worse still he, hiding in the shadows and behind corners, followed Ryou out of the underground Lab into the café itself. What Ryou did next did nothing short of make Pai's vision go red with anger: He _ordered_ Mew Lettuce to go make him some tea. On Pai's home planet, Ryou would have been killed for his complete disrespect for a woman.

On Cyniclon's planet, women were the most precious of their species and any act done against them was considered an absolute abomination. And Pai was no exception to this belief. Though, he couldn't help that little nagging feeling in the back of his head telling him that he was only _this _angry because it was this particular girl. He blamed natural male instinct to protect weak girls, and left it at that. But, still he stood deathly still in his corner, seething as he glared fiery daggers into the back of Ryou Shirogane's head. Completely unaware of the events happening in the kitchen.

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**Review! It gets the next chapter out faster! **


	6. Chapter 5: Family Life

**Well, hello there! Welcome to the long awaited (understatement), much anticipated (yeah, right) chapter 5 of In the Dark of the Night! Anyway, I'd like to dedicate this chapter to 'Amanda that's all you need to know' for leaving me several comments with both encouraging anticts of a dedicated fan (which I always love) as well as prodding me to write and post this chapter. Ok, so basically this chapter is more exposition and guess what? It centers around... wait for it... KISSHU! :) Alright, Alright I know what you're all thinking: Broadway! How dare you bring in an OC! And my answer is: sorry *sweatdrop* I needed her to represent Cyniclon socioty and, later, the struggles of adapting to a mindset that differs from one that has been taught to you your whole life. I've tried my best to make her as non-mary sue as possible. In fact, my whole goal was to make her out as kind of a bitch (excuse my French). If you've read my story "Bye-Bye Brother" she should be a familiar character, because I recycled her from that story. Oh yeah, in case I don't state it clear enough in the story: Eclaire is Kisshu's Cyniclon mother. Anyways, read and review and all that good stuff.**

**-Broadway**

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Kisshu groaned as he was pried away from the comforting hands of sleep. Frown set heavily on his features, he forced his eyes open and batted them repeatedly trying to keep himself awake. God, he hated Mondays. He felt his eyes droop slightly. Maybe five more minutes of sleep wouldn't hurt…

"Oh _hell_ no! You get your ass up right now! If I have to go to that hell-hole we call 'school', I'll be damned if you're not going to suffer with me!"

Suddenly, Kisshu's body received a harsh blow to the side and landed with a definite 'thunk' on the other side of the bed. He groaned frustratedly, "Can't you just tell Mom I'm sick, sis?"

The girl on the other side of Kisshu's bed had her Aztec gold eyes set on Kisshu glaring with a semi-disgusted look on her face, a look which quickly morphed into a snarl, "No! I'm not going to school alone again! Those bitches on Earth TV may put up with it, but not me, so MOVE IT!"

"Kisshu? Yuurei? Is everything OK up there?" A soft voice floated up the stairs in a way only a worrying mother could pull off. Quickly flipping a stray piece of charcoal hair behind her back the girl, Yuurei, answered back in an artificial give-you-diabetes voice, "Yes Mother! I was just helping Kisshu get ready for school!"

"Alright, as long as you're sure… Well Breakfast is almost ready, you two. So, when you're ready come on down." Their mother replied.

"Ok!" Yuurei responded and then quickly dropped the sweet tone in favor for an exasperated one, "Come on, Kish, you can't miss another day of school! If you do you know they might take you out of the Earth Recovery Program."

From his spot on the floor, Kisshu considered this. Finding no legitimate excuse to stay, he pushed himself off the floor of his room only to come face to face with a very arrogant looking Yuurei who chuckled lightly, "Thought you'd see it my way."

The only response she got was an annoyed grunt and a mumbled insult, both to which she only smiled. Yuurei- 1 Kisshu-0.

A few minutes later both made their way down the flight of stairs separating them from their breakfast. Well, Kisshu walked; however, the better word to describe what Yuurei was doing was waltzing down the steps.

Breakfast was a modest affair. Aside from the customary sibling quarrels, all was well within the small, happy family of Cyniclons. Though the part of the father was missing, it was perfect little doll house of a life and like all doll houses, everything was seemingly perfect.

However a dark knowledge always plagued Éclair in the dark recesses of her mind. A place that she hadn't the heart to venture. She knew. She had always _known_ about her son and his…._ Origins._ At first she had been revolted by the very thought that the boy used to be human, but as time wore on she couldn't bring herself to think of him as any less than her own. And, Yuurei, she was completely oblivious. She didn't know. Her slate was completely clean and her hands untouched by blood, traits that Éclair envied. It broke her time and time again to think of how heartbroken and betrayed Yuurei would look if she ever found out. Hell, how Kisshu would look if he ever found out!

She gripped the plate she was washing in her hand (it has been long since Yuurei and Kisshu left for school squabbling all the way) What a wicked woman she was! How could she deceive the poor child so? As much as she wished the knowledge away, it lingered, it prodded, it gnawed. She was not Kisshu's mother. And there was some poor lady out there on Earth who _was, _some poor woman who loved the boy as much as she did! And yet, she had neither the courage nor the will to tell him. Yes, she was indeed the wickedest of women. The scum of motherhood. The filth of her race.

Kisshu wasn't paying attention. It was as simple as that. What the teacher was lecturing about he neither knew nor cared. On a sheet of Notebook paper that was intended lecture notes, he drew something he deemed to be much more important: Ichigo Momomiya. As he lightly scratched the pencil along paying special attention to the gentle curves of her face and silky texture of her cat ears. As he completed his sketch of Ichigo he looked upon it in admiration. She was so beautiful in his eyes.

"Someday," He whispered to the picture, "I'll make you see how much I love you."

"You know, if you drool anymore I'm going to have to get you a mop." Yuurei said dryly.

Kisshu fumbled with his picture and floundered with an excuse to get himself out of such a compromising situation before Yuurei started laughing, "Shut up. It's cool. So who's the girl?"

Yuurei craned her neck trying to sneak a peak of the sketch and Kisshu, upon realizing such, quickly and unceremoniously chucked it as far away from where they were sitting as his strength would allow. Fortunately, he did so before Yuurei could catch a glimpse. Unfortunately, it landed right on the teacher's desk, "What in Deep Blue's name is this?"

Kisshu flinched. He was done for now.

"I mean, what a terrible drawing of a Cyniclon! The ears are completely wrong and the face is too rounded! Absolutely awful!" the teacher wailed in tizzy of displaced anger (for she wasn't a very pleasant woman to begin with.)

Yuurei and about half of the class all rolled their eyes preparing themselves for another rant from their teacher about how students' drawing skills are reverting back to that of cavemen and that school should focus more on art and culture rather than 'barbaric conquering of territory that has been for a millennia forsaken' . Kisshu, however, was just relieved that his drawing had been forgotten.

Hours later, the bell dismissing the students had rung and Kisshu's heart filled with joy. It was after school which, in Kisshu's mind, meant only one thing: he could go to Earth.

His smile immediately brightened tenfold at just the thought. Yuurei scowled as if reading his mind, "Don't even think about going to Earth to play with your little monsters today. You have homework."

Despite the snarl in his sister's voice, Kisshu was still happily floating on cloud nine, "That's nice, Sis. I'll see you later. Save me a plate at dinner!"

And with that final dreamy request, Kisshu disappeared into his warp hole. Yuurei clenched her teeth, blood boiling at dangerously high temperatures.

"ALL OF MY HATE!" She screeched at where Kisshu's warp hole used to be.

Kisshu-1

Yuurei- 1

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**Ah, gotta love sibling rivalry! Review Please! **


	7. Chapter 6: Tension

**Hey everyone! Yeah, I know its been a while, but let me tell you it took me a while because I sat down a figured out the plot for the rest of the story (meaning plot twists, villans, heros, ect.) If I had to summarize this chapter in one word it would without a doubt be: FORESHADOWING! I tried to focus mostly on Pai, Kisshu, and Ryou because A. I need Kisshu to progress next part of the story, B. Becasue we all know that Pai needs to be in a love triangle, and C. Because Ryou's backstory and Innerturmoil are essential. Well this is assuming that all of you know that Ryou's parents were killed by Cyniclons. Anyway please read and review! **

**Love always,**

**Broadway**

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Yuurei's outcry did not fall on deaf ears as she had assumed. Annoyed expression hevily emphasized on her brow she stamped away in a glorified tuff. And a mere shadow on the near by wall chuckled with spine chilling glee; the sound reverberated through the small vicinity but did not fall upon any ear.

Kisshu happily floated through spotless sapphire skies gracefully guided by the gentle caress of the breeze on the mildest of spring days. Such notions nearly doubled as Tokyo came into his line of vision, and it was only then that Kisshu realized he had been humming a joyful tune to himself underneath his smiling lips. _It should be a sin to be this happy over the prospect of just _seeing_ her! _But how could he resist such feelings? He was on a cloud he never wanted to get off of; high off a feeling he would rather die than live without.

Night had already befallen Tokyo by the time he arrived at Ichigo's house. He landed softly on the roof on his back, not even bothering to stand. After all, knowing she was just below where he lay made the hard, dirty clay roof tiles feel like a mattress made from the finest silk and cotton.

But then a sudden realization dawned on Kisshu, there was not a sound to be heard in Ichigo's room. He quickly berated himself for failing to notice sooner and took off into the night keeping a hawk's eye out for her.

He swept and combed through Tokyo leaving no corner unchecked and no stone unturned. Hearing a sharp broken inhale of breath Kisshu turned his head and felt his face morph into confused horror.

Pai was not angry. And he would let everyone know that he, Pai, was completely fine, God damnit. After all why should _he _of all people give a damn if the damn Green Mew wants to mate herself to that blond-haired Earth weakling? _Ryou._ His mind hissed the name as if it was the most foul of words. He gripped the beaker he was holding tightly in his fist and set it down with an unnecessarily loud clang and his face looking a little too edgy to be as calm as he claimed to be. But he who enjoyed having his head on his neck would not dare ask.

Taruto sat in the corner watching Pai with a strange look of almost fear and amusment while cradling a small piece of candy between his small fingers. Averting his gaze from the flusterd Pai he started gently twirling around the yellow colored sweet between his fingers. A dreamy haze fell over his eyes as he thought of the girl who gave him the delicacy. His lips pursed in forced annoyance, _che annoying girl._

Ryou walked down an old dusty street that had obviously seen many years and held many memories of many, many people. Ryou just happened to be one of them. He stopped as he came across the sight he had been looking for. Charred wood stood in nothing taller than narrow stumps and the ground was marred with a fire of so long ago. Coming to a stump near the center of the dusty nothingness, he wondered to himself if this was where the living room used to be, perhaps this is where his father used to read the morning paper or maybe where his mother used to do one of her multitude of crafts.

Suddenly the silent tears of many a year came crashing down on him in a weight his legs could not hold and so he fell to his knees tears slipping down his face in an uncontrollable pace though Ryou would not allow a sob to pass his lips.

Looking at the particular post he was by he noticed that a substantial chunk was missing undoubtedly done by an energy blast of some Cyniclon. He snarled. _The Cyniclons, they did this._ If it weren't for the Cyniclons he wouldn't have grown up in foster care, if it weren't for the Cyniclons he would have grown up normally, If it weren't for the Cyniclons _they _wouldn't be dead.

And then all of the grief washed away as suddenly as it had came. The throbbing of his heart strengthened and the pit of his stomach curled as his chest burned with the hate of the deepest grudge. His eyes fixed and his expression seething he pushed himself up from his harrowing position and began to walk further into the charred abyss of ruined homes and absent souls.

_All this…. Won't go unpunished._

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**Happy Broadway= In the mood to write more often**

**In the mood to write more often= more chapters**

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	8. Chapter 7: The Lonely House

**WHEW! It's finally done!**

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Ichigo shivered as the chill of loneliness washed down her spine in a numbing sensation. She had passed by this house many times in her younger years and, then, she was always filled with the warm tenderness of homeliness. But, now, her feelings were mirrored by the vacant house: dusty and unkept, mourning the loss of its happy memories. Ichigo felt a tear run down her cheek and a sob bubble in her chest. Through her tears, it was almost as if she could still see the shadows of a happy family bustling around inside and hear the echo of pleasant laughter that had long since fallen to silence. She could almost see a head of evergreen hair still bent in concentration over his homework on the desk by the window in the top right corner of the house, completely visible from where Ichigo stood.

Kisshu started with alarm at the sight of Ichigo's tears. Ashen faced, he sputtered and twitched as he floundered for an appropriate reaction to such a heart-wrenching sight. Another long second of watching her tears fall from her unfocused, half-crazed eyes, a gentleness washed over him, suddenly she looked fragile and grieved as if a single ill-placed word would be enough to shatter her.

"Ichigo?" Kisshu asked softly, momentarily forgetting her customary nickname,

"Are you alright?"

Ichigo felt a lungful of air catch in her throat. That voice. That soft familiar voice. Oh it just couldn't be! And yet her entire being gave into the notion. She whirled around and cried happily, "Haruki!"

Kisshu felt Ichigo land against his chest and he held her firmly, slowly stroking her hair. Confusion and bliss danced around in his mind in a jumbled mess. Kisshu didn't know who this 'Haruki' was and knew that he should have been in a fit of jealousy, but somehow the name didn't provoke the green of jealousy but rather, a small inkling of happiness instead surfaced in the deepest depths of his subconscious and the warm feel of her body so close to him compelled him to stay and enjoy such a precious moment. He smiled and held her tighter, unwilling to ever let go.

Ichigo was delirious. Her Haruki had returned to her! She cuddled herself into his cold chest. _Wait. _She thought, _why would his chest be cold? _She gripped tighter at the waist in front of her and she noticed, to her horror, that it was incredibly skinny. She raked her brain for memories and yet she couldn't find any that indicated that Haruki was particularly skinny. In fact, she couldn't even find any that indicated that he had curves like this person seemed to have.

Quickly, Ichigo's survival instincts kicked in (after all she could not tell if this stranger hugging her was a friend or foe) and she pushed him away with all the strength she could conjure up in her limbs, much to her partner's surprise. Kisshu fell to the floor and then brown eyes met gold and locked.

A long moment passed.

Kisshu held his breath. He was a dead man. Alien, whatever. This was the end of the line. She was definitely going to kill him; the rage in her eyes was proof enough for that, but what really kept him hooked to her eyes was the sadness, the glaring disappointment. His heart sank to his stomach. Was he really so disgusting, so wretched that the thought of him holding her was enough to evoke such a look? On second thought, he was glad she was going to kill him. Unknowingly putting him out of his misery. Anything was better than this terrible weight he felt in his chest, this sense of being so... _Unwanted._

Ichigo was going to cry. Why? Why was it always a dream? Why did she always allow herself to fall into false hope? Haruki was gone. He was never coming back. But, then, why was there a gnawing guilt coursing through her veins; the undeniable tug of want to throw herself back into the arms that had just held her so tenderly? _Kisshu's _arms. The thought in and of itself was chastising. And then, red hot anger swept over her. He took _advantage _of her! She was weak and he used it as a chance for one of his stupid perverted fancies! She opened her mouth to scream at him, but the words died on her lips.

Kisshu's eyes were not sparkling. Kisshu's eyes _always _sparkled; they always glimmered with amusement and happiness whenever he would swoop down from seemingly nowhere. But, now, here he laid, eyes flat and lifeless with only the slightest tones of sadness and pain lurking in the depths of unfocused pupils. Suddenly she was filled with an unexplainable sense of panic and sadness, stricken with the unorthodox hollowness in his eyes.

She had to get away. It wasn't right. _This _wasn't right. She shouldn't feel anything but undying hatred for her adversary, but instead she found herself _caring_, wanting slap the sparkle back into those eyes, shake him until he made a perverted joke and called her that infernal nickname that she (much to her dismay) was dying to hear. The caring overwhelmed her. Clogged her senses to the point where instinct took charge.

"J-jerk!" She stuttered out in a forced shout that sounded half-hearted even to her own ears. But, she did not allow Kisshu the time to respond before sprinting off choking back sobs all the way.

Kisshu made no move to stop her.

He pushed himself up to stand with minimal, almost trance-like effort. He looked up at the house that towered over him with its empty, dirt glazed windows. He found himself wondering what it was about this house that made Ichigo despair so much. Almost without realizing it, he found himself at the house's front door tentatively pushing on the latch on the door. The door opened with no resistance save the shriek of rusty hinges.

Kisshu placed his foot on the rug in the main hall of the house and was only vaguely surprised when the threads gave under his weight with an eruption of dust. Kisshu looked upon the place through a narrow, scrutinizing eye. The house was almost bare. Sure enough there was furniture and rugs and appliances still laying about shrouded in a crude layer of dust, but it lacked little nick-knacks like books or pictures or any of the endearing things that elevate a house to a home.

He traced his hand gently along the wall admiring the faded wall paper that was peeling at the corner, taking the time to note all of nails that remained in the walls. He supposed that there must have been pictures there once. He wandered through the first story of the house mentally assessing the various levels of disrepair each room suffered. Inexplicably, he felt a shiver of sadness as he looked upon the disheveled building, vaguely he felt familiarity with it, though that was merely brushed off, thinking it was simply his emotional vulnerability, still sore from Ichigo's rejection.

The thought made Kisshu stop. He could not recall how much time had passed since he had entered this house. _Minutes? Hours? Days?_

Kisshu found himself not caring as his eyes locked with the darkened hall that lurked at the top of the staircase in front of him. He gripped the rail as he gently stepped his way up the stairs, flinching as the loud groaning of wood filled the otherwise silent house.

When he reached the top step he came face to face with a wall. He turned his head the left part of the split top story and found that, in relation to the rest of the house, it was in fair condition, though he did note that it was particularly bare of objects. Even the nails were missing from this side of the house. Turning his head to the right, what he saw took him aback.

Every inch of the entirety of the hallway was caked in a thick layer of dust (as opposed to the rest of the house which was only veiled with a significantly lesser layer), and it looked completely untouched. There were pictures aligning the walls, a fine vase with long dead flowers decorated daintily with a doyle and there was even a miniature wooden rocking horse sitting atop the towel cabinet.

As he wandered down that side of the hall, mesmerized by the pictures of a happy family of three huddled together smiling. He felt a familiar tug in his chest, a tug that he only felt when he thought of his Mother or Yuurei as he looked at the dark-haired mother with earthy brown eyes and the green haired father with stony grey eyes. An uneasy sense of anxiety came over him as he looked at the lone boy who sat contentedly beside his parents; a perfect blend of the two: green hair and earthy eyes.

Not wishing to dwell on such a guilt evoking feeling, he turned his attention to the rooms. There were four in total. Three of the doors were wide open and Kisshu instantly identified the rooms as a bathroom (completely in tact with towels, toilet paper and all), small office (scattered paper, mostly bills, on the desk resting demandingly in the room), and a guest room. But, at the very end of the hall, was a door that was shut tightly and appeared as though it had been so for a long time. _Perhaps, _Kisshu mused, _longer than any other room in this miserable place._

Feeling the decisive pull of curiosity, Kisshu made his way down the narrow stretch of nearly undistinguishable carpet and wood to the white painted door with the brushed copper handle. Gently, as if caressing the most delicate of objects, brushed away the dust off the rounded handle. Faintly, he could see his reflection through grimy spots and odd deformities. He imagined it must have shined rather nicely in a time not too long ago.

Curiosity and anxiety firmly gripping his heart, he twisted the handle and entered the room.


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